Guiding and supporting mechanism for canopy-standards.



'PATENTED MAR. 5, 1907.

P. P. SWART. GUIDING AND SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR CANOPY STANDARDS.

APPLICATION FILED APE.1, 1905. RENEWED JULY 26, 1906.

I NVENTOR THE NORRIS PETERS co, wnsnmcrorl. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP F. SWART, OF B'ROOKPORT, NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 5, 1907.

Application filed April I 1905. Renewed July 26, 1906. Serial No. 327,964.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP F. SWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Broclrport, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Guiding and Supporting Mechanism for Canopy-Standards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for guiding andsupporting a standard or pair of standards, as the case may be, such as are used frequently on tables, on cots, or on counters, the purpose being to provide a means for guiding and supporting the standards, whether one or more, so that from the tops of the standards or from connecting pieces at their tops there may be supported a suitable canopy or protecting-cover of any suitable material, an essential object of the present invention being the provision of means for suitably guiding and supporting the standard or standards in both their operative and inoperative positions. The standards are caused when out of use to occupy horizontal positions beneath the top board or covering of the table, counter, or cot, so as to be out of sight, and are securely held in such concealed position, and at the same time provision is made for suitably guiding and suporting them while they are beingmoved from their inoperative to their operative positions and for holding them in their operative position against the normal thrust exerted upon them by the weight and action of the canopy or covering of whatever character which may be stretched over them.

With these objects in view my invention consists in a guide formed, preferably, of sheet metal pressed into shape by suitable dies, so as to engage the standards upon preferably four sides, if square, and when in horizontal position.

Another feature of the invention consists in a guiding mechanism, preferably a slot, of

such a character that a projecting screw or pin on the standard is caused to enter such guiding-slot before the standard is moved to its vertical position and a peculiar conformation of the slot for locking the standard in its vertical position.

The usual length of such a standard prohibits the use of a metallic guiding-plate of a length equal to or greater than that of such standard, and as the standard when in its operative position should preferably be in engagement with the guiding-plate it is necessary that the guiding-slot therein be so conformed as to receive the cooperating pin or screw on the standard at some time in the travel of the standard prior to its being moved out and locked in its vertical or operative position. lt is necessary also, inasmuch as the standard in its operative or vertical position should lie entirely outside of the framework of the device to which it is attached, that the guiding and locking slot of the plate should extend outward and beyond the outside surface of the supporting-frame of the article of furniture to which it is attached, and it is also desirable that the main portion ofsuch guide should be contained within the frame to which it is attached in order that it may not present an unsightly appearance and furnish an unnecessary obstruction upon which articles may be caught. For this reason I have found it desirable to extend a portion of the guide through a suitable mortise therefor in the frame, and through this same mortise also the standard itself is arranged to slide.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters refer to similar parts, I have shown a pair of standards connected at their upper ends by a suitable crosspiece,-such standards arranged to slide in guides in accordance with my invention, and such guides of course arranged in a pair and secured to the end piece of a frame, which may be the framework of any article of furniture to which it may be desirable to attach such standards. In such drawings I have shown the guides as connected to the end pieces of the frame, as such an arrangement usually affords the best results.

An essential feature of my invention lies in the guide itself and the cod eration of such guide with the standard an of the slot in such guide with the screw or pin in such standard. Such a cooperation, it will at once he understood, can be secured regardless of the exact means employed for supporting the guide, whether it he supported directly from the under side of the top of the table or counter, which arrangement will necessarily lte resorted to when the article to which it is attached has not the usual side frame for supporting the top thereof, or in any other sui table way.

The drawings are as follows: Figure 1 shows in pers ective view two standards connected at t eir outer ends and arranged to be supported from a suitable framework Ibo by two guides made according to my invention. Figs. 2 and 4 are near and far side views of the guide shown in Fig. 1 nearer the observer, as well as 01 portions of the frame and top, shown in section, cooperating therewith. Fig. 3 shows in end view the parts seen in Figs. 2 and 4. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are enlarged side, bottom, and end views, respectively, of the guide shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4; and Fig. 8 shows in developed view the blank from which such guide is formed.

As seen in Fig. 1, the framework to which the guides are attached is composed of side pieces a and a, of which only the ends near the observer are shown, and connected between these side pieces is seen the end piece (L to which the guides c and c are secured. These guides serve as guides and supports for the standards I) and 1), respectively, which are connected, as shown, by the crossbar I) at their outer ends. These guides c and c are so formed that when the standards I) and b are drawn out endwise from the frame suitable screws in the ends of such standards will engage slots in the guides, and when in the extreme out position the standards may be swung upon these screws so as to occupy practically the position shown in dotted ines. W hen in this position, the standards are permitted to drop slightly by the conformation of the slots in those portions of the guides extending outside of the end piece a and thus the standards are locked in the vertical position, since their lower ends drop below the mortises in the end piece a through which such standards slide when being moved to their horizontal positions. In Fig. 1 the top a supported by the framework, is shown in dotted lines, so that the arrangement of the guides may more readily be seen, and in this top suitable slots may be formed, as indicated, to receive the standards when in their vertical position, and thus make them more rigid in such operative position. The detailed cooperation of the standards and guides is more apparent by reference to Figs. 2 to 7, inclusive, which are de tailed views of the standard I), guide 0, and so much of the frame and top carried thereby as is necessary to indicate the operation of the parts. As seen in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, the guide 0 consists, essentially, of a main portion a", in which a slot 0 is formed, extending nearly the full length of such portion 0, and near the left-hand end of this portion 0 the slot 0 is joined by a short slot 0 at right angles to the slot 0 This portion c o'l' the guide is arran ed to bear upon one side of the standard d, and other portions of the same sheet of metal, as shown at c and c in Fig. 8, are bent at right angles along the dotted lines 6 c and h h, respectively, and toward the observer to form top and bottom guiding-surfaces, respectively, for this standard b. To guide the standard on the other sidethat is, the side toward the observerthe portion 0 of the same sheet of metal is bent at right angles to the portion 0 along the dotted line f f, so as to project downward and form a part of one side of a nearly closed square tube. In other words, the blank shown in Fig. 8 is so bent along the dotted lines indicated that the portions 0 and 0 form guiding-surfaces for the standard on its sides, while the p01 tions 0 and 0 form guiding-surfaces for the topand bottom of such standard. Flanges c and c are bent outward from the main portion of the guide and at right angles to the portions 0 and 0 respectively, along the dotted line (1 (1, so as to lie practically in the same plane. These flanges have suitable hole's formed in them for securing the guide to any suitable support, in this case the end piece a of the frame. The flange c at the other end of the guide, having the hole 0 formed therein, is bent along the dotted line 9 g practically at right angles to the plane of the portion 0 and in a direction away from the observer, as seen in Figs. 5 and 8.

The standard I), as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, is reinforced at its end by a tube 6 and has inserted in its side near the-end a screw 1) of such a conformation as to nearly fill the slot 0 and prevent the standard from lateral motion when such screw engages such slot. 'i he hole 0 in the flange 0 permits the head of the screw to pass out of the guide when the standard is in its inoperative position. The portion a of the guide, it will be noticed, extends somewhat to the left of the flanges c and 0 before being extended downwardly to inclose the slot 0 in order that the guide may extend through the end member a of the frame, as indicated. It will be understood that the guides c and c, as shown, are made right and left hand, but that the operation of both guides is the'same. Attention is also called to the fact that the blank indicated in Fig. 8 will form either guide, as desired, according to the direction in which the various portions are bent relatively to the portion 0.

As the result of the construction just de scribed it will be noticed that when the standards are in their inoperative position they are positively guided and that such guides need only extend for a portion of the length of such standards and that while being drawn out to the operative position the pivotal screws carried by such standards engage the guides, and when such standards are drawn to their extreme outward position these pivots drop into the vertical slots in the guides after the standards have been swung to a verticalposition, and that owing to the cooperation of the heads of these. pivots and the guides the guides and end piece of the frame positively hold the standards in such vertical position, and also that the top or cover carbar similarly supported from the other end of the frame, may be used to support a canopy of netting, cloth, or similar fabric, as desired.

What I claim is- 1. As a means for guiding supporting and looking a slidable and swinging standard, a supporting-frame, a tubiform guide, a closed slot in the Wall of such guide having a transverse extension, a stud on such standard for engaging such slot, such supporting-frame cooperating with the transverse extension in such slotand the stud on such standard to lock such standard in its vertical position, such standard slidable through a suitable opening therefor in such frame in alinement with such tubiform guide and the wall of such guide carrying such slot extending through such opening in such supporting-frame.

2. As a means for guiding supporting and locking a slidable and swinging standard, a tubiform guide, a closed, slot in the wall of such guide having a transverse extension, a support for such guide, a stud on such stand- ,ard for engaging such slot, means cooperating with the transverse extension in such slot and the stud on such standard to lock such standard in its vertical position, such stand ard slidable through a suitable opening therefor in such frame in alinement with such tubiform guide.

3. As a means for guiding supporting and looking a slidable and swinging standard, a supporting-frame, a tubiform guide, a closed slot in the Wall of such guide having a transverse extension, a stud on such standard for engaging such slot, such supporting-frame cooperating with the transverse extension in such slot and the stud on such standard to lock such standard in its vertical position, such standard slidable through a suitable opening therefor in such frame in alinement with such tubiform guide and the wall of such guide carrying such slot extending through such opening in such supportingframe, such stud on such standard arranged to pass out of engagement with such slot when such standard is moved to its inmost horizontal position.

4. As a means for guiding supporting and locking a slidable and swinging standard, a tubiform guide, a closed slot in the Wall of such guide having a transverse extension, a support for such guide, a stud on such stand ard for engaging such slot, means cooperating with the transverse extension in such slot and the stud on such standard to lock such standard in its vertical position, such standard slidable through a suitable opening therefor in such frame in alinement with such tubiform guide, such stud on such standard arranged to pass out of engagement with such slot when such standard is moved to its inmost horizontal position.

PHILIP F. SXVART.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. BENEDICT, E. HARRISON. 

